An Unexpected Circumstance
by Merlin Greenleaf Varis
Summary: In the year 2098 of the Fith Age, William and Logan learned that the legends of the Fellowship were not true. The two brothers set out to find the truth. Will they find what they seek? Or will there only be more legends?
1. Chapter 1

An Unexpected Circumstance

By: crazy-about-books and Merlin Greenleaf Varis

Trust me; the two of us spent a ton of time just trying to find a way to even start this story. It's hard.  
_And it's not because MGV is not creative, she's positively brilliant!  
_Actually that's CAB's category.  
_Nah, she's just being humble, but if she is being insistent (she is) that's both of us.  
_Enjoy.  
_Yes, we hope you think it's worth coming back to!  
_Just for a heads up, the updates will be alitttle spread out.  
_Yeah, we're learning what's happing about just as fast as you guys and sometimes its a bit hard to get together. So... ENJOY!_

Prologue

The little town of Bree was always a quiet town… except when the merchants came twice every ten years. When this happened the town seemed to come alive; there were children hanging banners and wives making sweet breads, hoping the aromas would earn them some money. At this time, the twins, William and Logan, and their older sister, Sienna, were always busy preparing the rooms for the merchants.

"William! Logan!" Sienna's voice broke the stillness of the morning.

"We have GUEST's coming at any point now. The floor needs to be swept, and I find you two playing with the BROOM'S!" she shouted with both hands on hips.

The two boys froze. The brooms in their hands were raised above their heads. They looked sheepishly at their sister. She had interrupted their 'sword fight.' With a sigh they dropped their brooms to the ground.

"We did," they objected "It's not our fault that you are so picky."

"Besides, Logan hit me first." William added

Grumbling, they picked up the brooms and finished sweeping under their sister's keen eye. She sighed. She had to be responsible for them since her husband was out at the butchers and their parents had died in a wolf attack.

At that moment, Jacob, Sienna's husband, rushed in. "The Merchants… they're here."

Sienna snapped into action. "What are the two of you fools standing around for? Get to work!" she shrieked before calming down. Certainly this was a stressful time. It was rare for them to get visitors in the first place, and this was something of a holiday for everyone. Without a doubt, things had to be perfect.


	2. Chapter 2

Diclaimer: We do not, repeat, DO NOT own any of J.R. writting. I wish i did though..._so do I, MGV_

Chapter 1: A Legend Unmasked

In the distance, the lights of a town glowed. The Leader of the caravan glanced back at rest of his group. After a long trek they had finally reached their goal. He continued moving forward in the night towards the gleam of the lights ahead of them. As they entered the town, he glanced around searching for an inn. His eyes fell upon an inn called The Prancing Pony. It looked like a warm place to stay the night, but he had to make sure that everyone else in the caravan had someplace to stay first. Many slept in their own wagons but others, who had money, paid for a warm bed within four walls and with a fireplace. That was his plan, as soon as he was sure the others were well off, he was going to pay for a room in the inn.

As he entered, he saw a young woman scolding what seemed to be her sons. The quieter of the two identical boys spotted him and nudged the other. With a nod of his head, the mother realized that they had a guest.

"Oh, dear, I am so sorry. Do you need a room?"

"Yes, please. And do not worry, I know how little ones are; there are plenty among us. The one thing I always tell them is to listen to their mothers." The man looked pointedly at the boys the woman had been scolding.

The three of them looked confused for a moment before the silent boy's eyes widened as he blushed. The women blushed as well, while the other boy stepped away from his mother and started gagging exaggeratedly.

"I apologize, but they're not my sons. These two are my younger brothers." The woman blushed rather deeply.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He bowed to the woman who was actually a sister rather than a mother.

"It's quite alright. Many travelers have mistaken us for mother and sons. I'm starting to get used to it, but I doubt these two are. Anyways, my name is Sienna and you said you wanted a room? Just for one?"

"Yes, only me." He bowed again. "I'm known as Rider."

The boy who had gagged at the suggestion of his sister being his mother spoke up suddenly. "Do you have any stories to tell?"

"I have plenty, but I suspect your interests will be in a rather old legend." Rider replied.

"Uh, William, will you please show Mr. Rider here to his room?" Sienna asked the quieter one. He nodded and led Rider upstairs. When the two had left, they heard a loud smack and a yelp of surprise from the other boy.

'William' smirked.

"So, is your sister abusive?" Rider asked him.

"Oh, no. She's not." William replied surprised, but he seemed to be holding back laughter. "Logan—he gets a little out of hand sometimes. Usually a good smack on the arm nocks him to his senses."

"Ah, sibling love—there's nothing like it." William smiled at the man's words.

He seemed to be warming up to the stranger, so Rider decided to hazard another question.

"Your brother, what's his name?"

"Logan."

"Are you two twins then?"

William gave him a You-are-seriously-asking-me-that glance. "Uh, yah. I mean, we are identical." He replied, "So what legend is it?" He added opening a door.

"That will be a surprise." Rider laughed at Williams small pout.

"Well, this should suit your needs." William informed him, "I guess I'll be seeing you tonight." The not-so-quiet-anymore child left. Before he entirely disappeared from view, the boy looked back. "I really am looking forward to the legend. I'm sure it will be fantastic." With that the boy left Rider to settle down. He decided to tell the tale tomorrow night.

The next evening was rather crazy. Sienna and the twins were rushing around trying to assist everyone that they could. William suddenly noticed Logan bring a drink to a rather dark, unexpected traveler sitting in the corner. He was shocked to see how pale Logan was when he walked away.

"Who was that?" he asked his twin.

"I—no idea, but he's terrifying." came the reply, "Is it almost time for the legend?" Logan was obviously trying to change the subject, but William didn't press the matter. Glancing over, they saw that Rider was being asked questions by the younger children of the town about the legend.

"Calm down, young ones. Calm down." Rider sighed. "I suspect you wish me to tell the tale."

"Yes, yes, we do!" the children cried.

"Well, I shall begin."

Seeing that the tale was about to begin, Logan and William abandoned their tasks to sit at Rider's feet. With a small grin, Rider began to tell his tale.

"Long, long ago our story began. Over thousands of years ago, in the third age, a group of heroes set out on the most fantastic quest since the beginning of time, and it still remains as the greatest adventure to have ever existed. There were two elves of a distant elven realm: Legolas, princess and heir of Greenwood, and Boromir, prince of Greenwood. The two siblings were in need of help. A new evil had sprung into this world. Hidden in the dark corners of the world, an evil sorceress was hiding. Her name was Sauron. Sauron had a heart of stone, rather than melt-able ice. Legolas and Boromir were seeking the Amulet of Power. If it ever came into Sauron's grasp, it would mean the end of all.

"As well as the Amulet, they were seeking a company to aid in their endeavor. It was a fellowship of comrades that they sought. While on their travels they met with a wizard named Aragorn, who was known for defying death. He was also the King of Gondor; he had been overthrown years earlier and was trying to regain his throne. By no means was Aragorn a bad king; in fact, he was the best the kingdom had had in years. But, his story is to be saved for another time.

"When the three travelers reached a small town, which is much smaller than yours,…" A small chuckle came from the corner. Rider, the children, Logan, and William all glanced to see the stranger smiling.

"Are you feeling all right, lad?" Rider asked him.

The stranger merely shrugged his shoulders and waved his hand for Rider to continue. Just before he could, William snapped, "Just who do you think you are to interrupt our story and scare my brother." He regretted imediantly that he said that. The stranger's eyes were filled with flames but the fire quickly subsided.

"Continue," he told Rider. His voice was filled with a deep accent.

"Okay, then. Now where were we?"

"They had just met Aragorn and were in a small town." One of the children answered.

"Oh, yes, I remember now. In this small town, they met a group of four friends; and these friends were very different from each other. But, they held a treasure that was very valuable to Boromir and Legolas. The biggest and strongest of the group, Frodo, had received a very curious heirloom. It was the Amulet. As soon as they realized this, they asked the man to give to them; but it soon became clear that only Frodo could bear the Amulet. Rather than abandon him, his friends decided to accompany him, although Sam, the fool, would have rather stayed behind with the food.

"Before they could get far on their journey, the company of six was ambushed by a herd of orcs. Blood was splattered everywhere." The children gasped.

"What happened?" one of the boys asked.

"To the company's surprise, two dwarfs appeared and assisted the group. The two dwarfs were Gandalf, a swordsman, and Gimli, son of Gloin. Gandalf and Gimli were both more than willing to assist the group even though two of them were elves. The company realized that they needed a name. After seventeen minutes of arguing, it was decided that they would be known as the Fellowship of the Amulet."

A little girl giggled. Rider smiled but kept going.

"Now that they had obtained the Amulet, they had to destroy it. It had long been said that there was only one way to destroy the Amulet and that was through using an ancient sword against the magic item. They needed the sword of Anduril. The sword had not been seen for hundreds of years, and they needed to find it. So the Fellowship set off heading south, following rumors of the great sword. They were nearly towards the Argonath when once again they were attacked. It was horrific battle; they were greatly outnumbered; and, in the despair, the Amulet began to reach its tendrils into Frodo's heart. It whispered words into the man's heart, and he fled the battle. Sam, seeing his friend escaping, seemingly unnoticed, decided to follow him, hoping that his friend was leaving for home.

"The rest continued to fight against their assailants. In the confusion, Frodo's two other friends, a woman named Marry and a man named Pippin were wounded. And Boromir was knocked unconscious. So, who do you guys wish to follow first? The Fellowship or Frodo and Sam?"

"Let's do the Fellowship, then a brief summary of what happened to Frodo and Sam. Sam's an idiot, anyway." Many of the children nodded. William shot a quick glance at the stranger and saw him tense.

"Alright," Rider smiled. "Well, as I've said before, Marry and Pippin were gravely wounded. Gandalf and Aragorn examined their wounds and declared that they needed to go to Rohan. When they had arrived, the people of Rohan stared shocked as the Fellowship made their way to the king."

"The King took them in after he was freed from a wicked spell that was placed by a mean man named Sauroman!" one of young females cried, "My ancestor was one of those guards!"

Suddenly, William and Logan felt a tap on their shoulders. Turning around, they saw Sienna. She motioned for them to assist her behind the counters. William looked back at the stranger but saw that he was gone.

"Sis, was there a stranger—a traveler, I think—that asked for a room?" he asked.

"The one sitting in the corner?" she replied, "Yes. He's been here before you know. It's common to get a glimpse of him every once in a while."

The twins were unable to hear the rest of the story but there was no need. They had heard it before. Little did they know that the stranger had only moved to one of the tables to hear the legend better. He was watching Logan and William help their sister.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2: The Council of Legolas

William felt rather uncomfortable all evening. It felt like someone was watching him. Every so often he was able to catch bits and pieces of Rider's tale. The man had been right; it **was **the greatest adventure story of all time. The legend of the Fellowship was probably one of the most popular stories among all of Middle Earth. At the very least, it was well loved in Bree. After delivering another drink to one of the customers, Logan grabbed his arm.

"Hey, favorite brother."

William sighed, he was very familiar with this technique. "What do you want, Logan?"

The boy gave a pleading look to his brother. "The stranger ordered another drink and… well… would **you **mind delivering it?"

William once again sighed and nodded. **He **wasn't afraid of the stranger; but, coming to think of it, he hadn't actually been up close; so who was he to judge? As William walked up to him with a drink, he noticed that the air around the stranger was thicker than blood. The stranger was reading a letter with faint writing, but a single glance told William that it was written in Feanorian. He could just barely read who it was to when the stranger looked up and hid the letter.

"What?" he demanded.

"Oh, here's your drink, sir." William answered rather quickly. Suddenly, the man chuckled.

"What do you find amusing, sir?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing." Came the answer, "It's just that, I haven't been called 'Sir' for many a year."

"….Really?" William didn't really know what to say to that.

"So I take it you enjoyed the tale by your fervent defense of it and your brother." William swallowed nervously as he remembered yelling at the stranger.

"I did—do." The man chuckled again.

"You do know that that's not how it happened, don't you?"

"How do you know?" William snapped.

"Because it's a legend, child. There are many different versions around, what makes this one the correct one?"

"I…" There was no way to reply to that question. He had heard a couple, but they were old wives-tales. Those types of stories—or legends in this case—were rarely true, but they were still interesting.

The stranger smiled and glanced behind him. William turned to see Sienna standing with her hands on her hips, frowning.

"I better go see what my sister wants before she starts yelling." William apologized.

"If that's what you wish." The stranger merely remarked.

"Just one question. Who is that letter from?" he asked.

"Oh. It's from a very old friend of mine," the stranger answered, "We haven't seen each other for cent… years. Now, go see what she wants." He nodded his head at Sienna.

The boy gave a nod of farewell to the man and with a single glance back returned to his sister. Behind him the stranger's eyes were in another time and his smile was sad. He turned back to his letter, holding it fondly.

"What, exactly, were you doing?" Sienna wasn't happy with how long it had taken William to hand out the drink. "There are too many people askin' for drinks to go around talking. Now get back to work."

William joined Logan with handing out drinks. Logan seemed a little too quiet for Williams comfort.

"All right, Log. Out with it, what's bugging you?" he asked.

Logan didn't reply right away like he usually did. "The stranger… he didn't frighten you, Will?" That was more of a statement then a question.

"Not really." William answered, "I guess he's a bit alarming when you first see him, but I think he's just, well, sad. He said that letter he's reading is from a friend. Maybe that friend is dead or missing or anything else around those lines."

Logan nodded. "I figured that, but he seemed so—dangerous. When I handed him a drink earlier, I felt like I should take off running. There's no way to explain it, but I was just down right scared. Don't laugh, Will, but there's something about him that I don't like."

William laughed anyway. "Log, you feel like that a lot when we have new comers. Sure, he's been here before; but we've never seen him. I just wonder where he's from. He kinda reminds me of those pictures of Elves that dad used to draw."

"Yeah, but dad was crazy." Logan smiled fondly. The whole family had teased their father for his ideas.

William laughed, "True, but that doesn't mean that he wasn't right. The thing that was really interesting was; he didn't believe this legend." Logan opened his mouth as if to speak, but William didn't let him. "It wasn't the legend in general, it was **this** legend. As if he believed that the Fellowship's adventure **did **happen, but differently. He actually believed it." The boy sounded awed as well as confused.

Logan glanced at the stranger but didn't continue the subject. To Williams surprise he actually remained quiet for the rest of the evening. Soon, the room began to empty until there were only a few people left.

Sienna sighed. "We'll have to kick them out of here so we can get this place cleaned up a bit for tomorrow night since that's when everyone in town comes here." It seemed rather traditional for all merchants to share the Fellowship's legend to the **entire** town. Sienna didn't mind it, but the place usually was a mess from the night before.

"William, Logan. I need you two to start washing the tables and dishes; I'll work on the floor." she ordered before a man entered.

"Can we help you?" William asked.

"Has a man named Aren been here?" the man asked.

Sienna's voice quivered just a bit as she spoke. "Yes, he has!" she replied.

"I have a letter for him, ma'am." He showed them a scroll.

"Seriously, who writes letters like that anymore?" Logan whispered to William who nodded. The man narrowed his eyes at them but didn't say anything.

"I'll make sure it gets to him." Sienna reassured him, "Who shall I say it's from?"

"Tell him, my brother Elrohir sends his regards." With that, the tall dark-haired man left. The family of three stared at the door for quite some time.

"Uh, boys, keep working—er… start working. I'll go deliver this." She hurried upstairs and out of sight.

The boys looked at each other confused.

"Who's Aren?" Logan questioned.

"I have no idea."

When their sister returned, a few minutes later the boys were absorbed in their work. As per usual, Logan was bent over the tables scrubbing and William was elbow deep in hot water. At the sight of Sienna though, Logan abandoned his task and approached her to repeat his question.

"Who's Aren?"

Their sister looked at Logan's curious face and to William who had paused in his scrubbing of dishes. "Aren is the name of the man you two were gossiping about earlier."

Logan looked scandalized, "We do not **gossip**! Gossiping is for old ladies."

William snorted. That was definitely something Logan would say.

"Do you know that man?" William asked as he finished his job, "...his brother's name was Elrohir, I think." Sienna glared at him

"No. Of course I don't! I've never seen that man in my life," she snapped at the twelve year olds. Logan and William were only a couple weeks from being thirteen; but they still acted like children, especially when they asked stupid and annoying questions.

"Then why did you panic a little bit when he entered the room?" Logan questioned. The twins were putting Sienna on the spot.

"I didn't—the name just sounded familiar. There's nothing more to it, so finish your jobs and go to bed. It's nearly midnight." Sienna snapped before turning to get everyone else out of the room.

Logan and William hadn't been sent to bed since they were nine. The only times that happened after they turned ten were when something was bothering Sienna. She usually let them roam outside in the streets when it was nearly midnight, so they would lose some of their energy. The two boys didn't bother pushing the subject, though. She had told all that she was willing to tell.

William made a face at Logan and pulled his arms out of the water and went to the stairs that led to their quarters in the back of the inn. Glaring at his brother, William gave him a shove in the arm.

"Idiot."

"Hey!" Logan shoved back. All the way to their shared room, the two boys shoved at each other until they were full out wrestling.

"**Boys**!" They stopped at the sound of their sister's voice. With a few last shoves the two sat on their beds. From downstairs they could hear the sound of Jacob and Sienna continuing cleaning. They both knew that none of them were going to sleep any time soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: We do not own Lord of the Rings... though, we truly wish we owned some of the characters. _Especially, I wish I owned 50 year old Bilbo, he's adorable._

Chapter 3: The Departure of Aren.

Even though Sienna and Jacob thought that Logan and William had gone to bed, the two actually had climbed out the window after making dummies for their beds. What had happened was: while the boys were quietly talking about the stranger, Aren, Logan had caught a glimpse of a figure walking out of the _Prancing Pony. _Thinking it to be either his brother-in-law or his sister, he had leaned out to wave to the figure. He was immensely surprised to see that it was Aren. Beckoning to his brother they had watched the shadow head away from the inn. On a spur of the moment decision, the two had snuck out of their room to follow the man.

They kept as far behind him as they could without losing sight of him. When he reached the border of the town but still continued through the gate, Logan and William froze. They weren't allowed beyond the gates of Bree, but it would be **such** fun. They stared at each other for a moment before William nodded. Logan grinned triumphantly at his brother before taking the lead. Aren was just disappearing into the grove of trees on the opposite side of the road a few yards to their right when they continued to follow him.

The two youngsters followed Aren deep into the woods, so deep that the lights of Bree were no longer visible. Soon they saw two figures standing in the shadows slightly ahead of Aren. William and Logan were half expecting them to fight with each other, but to their great surprise, they welcomed each other as if they were long lost brothers.

"Ah, Dan. Roh. It pleases me to see that you two are still alive." Aren said grasping arms with the two figures.

"It seems that you are still alive, Mellon nin." One of them replied, "Roh and I weren't expecting you to be at Bree. We would have headed towards Greenwood, but the letter we received earlier this week thankfully told us exactly where you were going to be."

Logan and William looked at each other confused. 'What's Greenwood?' Logan mouthed.

William shrugged his shoulders and continued to listen.

"How have things been in your homeland, Roh?" Aren was asking.

The man, 'Roh', replied, "Things are much different now, time has changed much it seems outside of the last gathering places of our kind."

"Indeed, things are no longer the same." All was silent until Aren let out a small laugh. It seemed devoid of any actual mirth, though. "I was staying in an inn here, _The Prancing Pony _in fact; a merchant was there. He spent the evening telling the story of the Fellowship."

"Aren-" one of the strangers started, but he paid them no mind.

"It was all wrong. They had the names at least, but 'Legolas' and Boromir were elven siblings, and Legolas was a girl! Then Sam, dear Sam, was a simpleton and a coward… It was all wrong. All the sacrifices they made have become a thing for humor and mockery. They should be honored and revered! Instead, they have been forgotten."

The other stranger, 'Dan', let out a small chuckle. "Things could have been worse, Le—Aren," he told him, "Us two have heard thousands of different versions of the Fellowship. Pretty much every town or city has at least one version of what happened. Even the Yrks have one!"

"You've heard it?" Aren demanded.

"Aye. Dan here had us get caught by some just to hear it." Roh informed him. Dan gave him a small whack on the back of the head.

Suddenly Logan let out a small sneeze.

"Who goes there?" Aren demanded drawing a knife from under his cloak.

Logan and William refused to move. Both were paralyzed with the fear that they had been caught. Dan, Roh, and Aren didn't do anything for a few moments as if they were waiting for them to do something.

"It must have been a mouse, Aren." Dan remarked placing a hand on his shoulder, "We all are upset about these absurd Legends, and you have rights to be mad; however, we know that they are legends. Aren, you of all our kin should know that. You were…"

"Quiet," Roh interrupted, "I can sense that someone is here."

Without a thought, the two boys turned tail and ran. They both knew that it would be a **very **bad idea to get caught. All of a sudden, William felt something grab onto his shirt.

"Hey!"

Then it was Logan who was captured. The two boys struggled in their captors' grasp.

Then the person who had grabbed William started to speak. "Well, well, well. It's the two boys from the inn." It was Aren. "Tell me, what are two young boys doing out at this hour, eavesdropping."

"What eaves? There weren't any around and if there were, we wouldn't be dropping them!" William was glad that Logan was still able to be deliberately obtuse.

Aren laughed, but then snapped, "You, my friend, should learn to hold your tongue." Logan's mouth shut firmly. "Now, why were you two spying on my companions and me?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Aren, sir." William spoke up before his brother could. Logan was being held by one of the two unknown companions, while the other was standing there, one hand on his sword, glaring. "We were curious when we saw you head out and well, we couldn't help it."

The unknown companions began to snicker but stopped when Aren glared at them. "Well, what do you think we should do with them?" he asked.

"I say that they should come with us." the one holding Logan said

"How about we take them home and have their—was it their mother or sister?" The other one asked.

"We are Sienna's brothers, not sons!" both William and Logan shouted before Aren could answer.

"Be quiet. As I was saying, we should take them back home and have their **sister **take care of things from there." The three companions looked at the twins and grinned. Immediately, Logan and William began to try and escape; however, it was futile.

The two boys walked slowly and with their heads bowed in shame. They knew how their sister would react and how embarrassed and ashamed she would be. It was going to be horrible. When the group reached the front of the inn, Dan strode up to the door and gave a firm knock.

Sienna opened the door and started to talk before she realized that her brothers were there, being held firmly by Aren and another stranger.

"Sorry, all our rooms are filled, what with the—William? Logan?"

The two boys glanced at her before looking back down and shuffling their feet.

"I am sorry ma'am, but I believe we have found something of yours."

"Wha- of course, come in. Would you like a drink? JACOB! Come, here please. We need to have a little talk with the boys."


End file.
